Christmas in the Village

My earliest childhood memories of Christmas date back to a cluster of small villages nestled among cocoa farms and tall mahogany and palm trees. Wearing new clothes provided by our parents for Christmas, we were a happy group of eight- to - ten year-old kids walking from village to village like the magi who were looking for Baby Jesus. ( Matthew 2:1-2)
      Baby Jesus was not there in person, but we found plenty of friendship and goodwill. Later in the day, our mothers sent us with bowls of food to our neighbors. To us in the village, Christmas was a time of benevolence.
     But something was missing-the authentic Christmas story. In our merry-making, we missed the reason for the festival season. There was no church in any of the villages and no one told us the Christmas message-that God so loved the world that He gave His Son to be our Savior. ( John 3:16)
     It was like attending a birthday party without the birthday person!
      Not like the magi. Their foremost pursuit was to seek Jesus: " Where is the newborn king of the Jews?" they asked. ( Matthew 2:2)
     And when they found him, " they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they...gave Him gifts." They first found Him and worshipped Him before presenting their gifts.
     Whether we are children or adults, the truth is the same: Christmas goes beyond the festivity and focuses on Christ. The Son of God came that we may have " a rich and satisfying life." ( John 10:10)
     Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season.
Matthew 2:1-11
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of king Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, " Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him."
     King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of  religious law and asked, " Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
     " In Bethlehem in Judea," they said, " for this is what the prophet wrote:
 And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.' "
     Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, " Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"
     After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.